'49 through '52 not stodgy? OK, more cow-like or toad-like. I still like them and like driving them anyway.
The 48 Plymouth (IMO) is a much nicer design. And they were tough. I remember as a kid that the all taxi cabs were either Plymouths or Checkers... they got the tar wailed out of 'em on a daily basis and kept on tickin'. The Plymouth "fastbacks" have good lines, but that bustle is a bit too "frumpy" to blend with the rest of the lines. My '51 is kind of blocky... with the edges smoothed over. The original design for these cars was modified by one of the corporate big shots He always wore a hat and thought that men didn't want to remove their hats to get into the car, so he had the roof line raised up to accommodate that belief. I've seen a couple of these cars mildly chopped... like a couple inches only... and it wakes up the whole styling of the car. You can tell that's how they were suppose to look originally. Here's mine compared to a couple more I found on the H.A.M.B., etc. and credit to the owners for beautifying them as they have!
I have always liked the MoPars of the 40's and 50's. Some of the early 50's were not to much to look at, but most of them can make great customs.
I have always appreciated the older MOPARS, and older INTERNATIONAL trucks, so call me an odd ball, the terminology fits me just fine. Just recently I sold my 47 Dodge Model D-24 3 window business coupe, to a fellow HAMBER here in Washington state. Indeed the lines of the 47 Dodge business coupe, may not be appreciated as much as I think they should, but there is no mistaking what it is. I had the pleasure of driving mine cross country from Stockton Illinois all the way back to Seattle when I first bought it, it was all stock, with the flat head 6 banger and the fluid drive transmission. The old gal gave us a steady 65 miles an hour, and we got 17 miles to the gallon, not bad for a machine that had a lot of miles on the original engine.
My very 1st car , was a 51 Plymouth 2 door hardtop I bought out of a back yard in 1971 . I was 12 , it ran and drove but . was two years from my learner permit , sold it to a local kid with a rich dad, he fixed it all up, really had nice paint got rear ended , sad to see it go out like that .. still only DPCD for me
All this other stuff is superfluous. "Stodgy" is a good word when applied to most pre "Forward-Look" mopars, except for these cars. They are special, especially the Plymouths with the smoother rear styling..
Whoa... swoopy! That thing is bad ass... The grille is interesting, 'eh? Almost looks like a Zepher grille...
One thing I do know is that the 51-52 Plymouth is one of the nicest grilles of all the early 50's cars
In the 50's in So Cal. the drug dealers usually drove Mopars to avoid the Cops, they seldom pulled them over because they were so slow, now they are almost as popular as a "Shoebox". Times change. JW
Hello, Recently, I saw and took a photograph of a very nicely done truck from far away. My tired old eyes thought it was a 1940 Ford Truck from an obscure angle looking between parked cars. I couldn't be more surprised than to see that the truck was a Dodge, not a Ford. It would be a hard choice to decide on which one of these trucks to get for our own purposes. They are very similar in design and function. They are both great looking builds. Dodge versus Ford... Having owned two 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery hot rods for 5 + years, at a ten year different era, it is hard to say no to a 1940 Ford, anything. But, after seeing how the little differences make a design, perhaps the Dodge truck takes this race…or the classic 1940 Ford design we have all come to love in any model or style. Jnaki It all depends on what style a person or couple would enjoy or like, in the design. The lowered rake is evident in both, the quality is also evident. So, it comes down to a few choices for ownership. A Dodge or a Ford truck? It could be as simple as “I like Fords and that is it…” Or a cool root beer paint on the Dodge pushes the choice, (with a nice blending of two colors) and takes the cake… YRMV
Nope, not drinkin the koolaid sorry. I do have a 1935 plymouth slant back coach, it does have some nice lines, but so do most mid 30’s cars. Those late 40’s and early 50’s mopars must have been durable and practical, but without a ton of work that does not a hotrod make.